3 minute read
STUDENT MOTHERS
AMI WAGNER
EIGHT CHILDREN, AGES 23, 21, 17, 15, 13, 13, 11, AND 8
WHAT WERE SOME STRUGGLES OF BEING A LAW STUDENT AND A PARENT?
Law school is a massive time commitment — the amount of reading alone is immense. Kids are also a massive time commitment! My most challenging experiences were finishing the 1L appellate brief and the 2L semester I took 17 credit hours, including Law Review Journal and a live client clinic. No matter what, there were never enough hours in a day to do everything I wanted to do, and barely enough to accomplish all I needed to do. I wanted to be super-mom/ super-law student and sometimes I had to settle for well enough for today.
HOW DO YOU ANTICIPATE LIFE AS A PARENT STARTING A LEGAL CAREER?
While I was applying for post-law school employment I had to consider how each job would fit in my life as a single parent, whether I would be able to keep up with a challenging billable hour quota, or whether I would look for more flexibility and a schedule that did not have me in the office late every weeknight. I had to take into consideration the location of the firms I applied to in relation to my kids’ schools and be open during the application process about what my obligations and work schedule would look like. Calendaring my personal and family needs has been an important tool to balancing home and work. So far, I have found all of my clerkship and post-graduate employers to be understanding and supportive of my role as a parent and honestly, I wouldn’t want
ELIZABETH MUWANGA
FIVE CHILDREN, AGES 12, 12, 9, 5, 5
WHAT DO YOUR CHILDREN THINK OF YOUR BEING A LAW STUDENT?
Elizabeth shares that she has been in school for her children’s entire lives. She gave birth to her oldest children, 12-year old twins, at age 16. Since then, she has earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in social work — she is a dual degree law student and earned her MSSW while in law school.
Her oldest children, the 12-year-old twins, understand what it means to be a lawyer, and she has discussed the recent changes in the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court with them.
As for her youngest children, five-year-old twins, “They think law school is where you go to become a mermaid.”
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR PARENTS IN LAW SCHOOL?
“You have to do what’s best for you. That might mean going part-time. Know you’re going to get your degree eventually.
“Look for a law school environment that is open. Tell your professor what is going on — all of the ones I’ve had have been very understanding.
“There’s nothing wrong with asking for help in law school.”
JESSICA MOORE
ONE SON, AGE 12
WHAT HAS LIFE BEEN LIKE AS YOU AND YOUR SON BOTH NAVIGATE DISTANCE LEARNING?
“Adaptation is the key word for everybody,” says Jessica. She and her son, who is autistic, are both enrolled in all online courses. She has converted a room in her home into their shared office, and while her son does school work, she does household chores and stands by to assist him. Then, it’s her turn for classes.
“It’s been challenging but we’re kind of in this groove.”
HOW HAVE YOU BEEN JUGGLING YOUR ROLES AS A PARENT AND A LAW STUDENT?
“I miss the classroom experience and I miss my classmates desperately, but having the ability to sit down and do the work when I can do the work is great.”
“I can rewind the recordings and re-listen to lectures. I really feel like I’m grasping the concepts better. It’s nice to be able to sit down — even if it’s at 2 a.m. — to focus on Secured Transactions.”
Jessica and her son both classify as highrisk in terms of battling COVID-19, so the option for them both to learn virtually has been a source of relief — she doesn’t have to worry about transporting him to and from school and therapy or about finding backup childcare if she contracts the virus.
